AVARS

Avars: translation

Ethnic group. The Avars are aMuslimpeople populating theNorth Caucasus, principally the Republic ofDagestanwhere they are the largest ethnic group (758,000). Sizable communities are also resident inChechnya,Georgia, andAzerbaijan. The Avarlanguageis a member of the Northeast Caucasian (Nakh-Dagestanian) language family. Originally inhabiting mountainous zones adjacent to Chechnya, Avars have increasingly settled in lowland areas of theCaspianbasin since the mid-20th century. The Avar ethnonym is used as a collective term by a host of linguistic groups, including Andis, Botlikhs, Karatins, Akhvakhs, Bagulals, Tindins, Chamadins, Godaberins, Tsezs or Didoys, Hvarshins, Genukhs, Bezhtins or Kaputchins, Gunzibs, and Archins. During the Soviet period, the Avars dominated the political apparatus of Dagestan, but were slowly marginalized under the rule of Magomedali Magomedov, an ethnic Dargin, during the 1990s and first half of the 2000s. In 2006,Vladimir Putinappointed an ethnic Avar, Mukhu Aliyev, as the head of Dagestan.